I'm currently developing an old-school side-scroller/platformer for iOS and Android; it's designed as an homage to the 8-bit games I grew up with, partly because it's just extremely fun to work on, and also because I haven't seen a single platformer on mobile yet that feels "right" to me. Essentially, I am making the game that I want to play, because no one else has yet. That being said, there's tons of platformers on the device for years now, and they are hardly newsworthy anymore. I am trying to gauge the interest level of such a thing. Consider this: - my game is strictly 8-bit style (limited frame counts, colors, resolution - as opposed to 16-bit). I actually prefer 8-bit style, some games just "look better" and more iconic when they are built with the original limitations in mind (Mega Man 2 being one of the ultimate examples of this) and of course it reminds me of the peak of my game-enjoying life - control setup: our game will not concentrate on a traditional virtual D-pad. This has been the biggest hurdle for me before deciding to proceed with development of a 2D side-scroller. We prototyped a new control method which I believe works really well; it's a lot more precise than your current control setups, it's not frustrating in the way that you are just "mashing an area of a flat screen" with no tactile feedback, and it genuinely feels intuitive enough that the control becomes natural once you've got a little used to it (anytime something different is implemented, it will take a certain amount of time for someone to get used to it). This control setup is ideal for the phone, to be played single-handed; we are expecting to implement "traditional virtual D-pad controls" as well since the new layout won't necessarily be as satisfying on a tablet. Furthermore, while iCade/external controllers are a nice gimmick, my philosophy is that a mobile game should be designed with the mobility (!) of the device in mind - meaning, dependence on external hardware add-ons is a bad thing, the experience should be ideal for the majority of potential users (who'll only have the native interface) So how do you feel? Have you seen enough 2D platformers on this device and would prefer that we devs would concentrate on different areas of development at this point (3D generally, or other game types overall) Do you feel that platformers are "as played-out as puzzle games" at this point - or are you still eager to see something that could be a better expression of this very classic game type? (and while you are at it, is 8-bit style considered "too old school" nowadays?) Thanks for your help!
Controls are absolutely critical to platformers on the iOS whether they're retro or not. But I'm all for retro platformers when they're done right (League of Evil and all of the OrangePixel games have spot on controls). What I'd like to see more of is long-form retro platformers. Not more of the 30-seconds or less level variety. There's some good ones out there, but lately most of the focus has been on hard-as-nails short level platformers.
Nope! Bring it on. One of the reasons I even enjoy iOS so much is because of the abundance of platformers. Yes, they're on the computer, but I like the feel better on mobile.
Old-school retro platformers are always welcome, and I'm of the same mind - I've found some excellent ones, but I'm always on the lookout for that "one" that gets the feel of it absolutely right. I love the ones that successfully evoke the 8-bit aesthetic and don't just tease it around the edges, but are legitimate games that stand up to the classics and maybe even better them in some ways. The biggest challenges seem to be controls, clever & challenging level layouts, and this is key - lots of content. So many games have everything else nailed but end up being so short in playing time that it feels like a teaser demo. Also nice: the willingness to expand the game in the future with significant content updates, free or paid.
Platformers IMO went in the can on ios. What you described I myself am waiting for. Sure there are a few hidden gems here and there but the amount of quick cash ins with zero innovation is outstanding. Oh and 8bit style isn't to old, especially if you could give it a "new" type of look
Platformers honestly feel like one of the best fits for mobile gaming. I love 'em, though honestly I don't give a rip about whether its retro or modern graphics styled. I don't really like games as much though where the graphics go back to the stone age, but as long as the retro looks nice I'm fine with it. And, more importantly, as long as its a good game I'm in.
Am I the only one against this? Let me get this straight : I love head case games and the dev is one of the most active around. However I just can't get my head wrapped around the thought of ANOTHER retro platformer. I think the market for that genre is pretty oversaturates right now and with mediocre titles at that. I honestly skip threads with retro platformer in their description. All of them to me feel like they're just trying to be a carbon copy of some game back in the 90s. To me these games can't feel "original" even if they came from the future. I think the time of retro gaming in general has just passed and gamers are looking towards the future, titles that will push their devices to the limit, not something that wouldn't even push my SNES. I'm sorry for the rant but I just think its time that we move on from the past and get to playing games of today's standard.
Completely disagree. A lot of games also want retro style games, i mean at the end of the day the best games are ones with great playability, doesnt matter if the graphics are bad/basic or the sound is, its all about gameplay. Thats why 30 years on we're playing Pacman or Space Invaders with minimal graphics/sounds. Plus there are actually you know a lot of gamers in their 30's who have an iOS device so enjoy a trip down memory lane to the 90's and 80's of gaming. Gaming didnt just arrive the last few years. I dont see why people get so annoyed, i cant stand childish Pokemon type games so i simply dont buy them, if you dont like retro platformers then just avoid them, theres tons of games in the app store for everyone. Retro gaming is still HUGE, look how successful the Midway App has been recently. In the UK theres a popular Retro Gamer magazine (also doing well in the US), theres lots of compilation's for all the latest consoles of retro games from yesteryear. If you dont like them then just avoid them, for the rest of us bring on another retro platformer !
modern graphics/sound are important, but don't you find retro limits what you can do? you can go on about it's all about gameplay all you want, but honestly, if 30 years back do you think if Namco/Atari etc had access to todays technology would they would still have made pong/asteroids/space invaders look the way they do? the thing is that the 'retro' look for games has become rather gimmicky.
appreciating all of the responses in here (both the positive and negative), it's tremendously useful and definitely helping me rethink some of the plans I've got for this game. Keep the info coming! Here's some early screenshots to get your wheels turning. It is important to note that this is WIP art and some major elements are subject to change. Also I will stress that the control implementation currently feels very good and if we pull this off (and you gamers & media care) then hopefully it can spark off a bit of a resurgence in how platformers are done on iOS. Because currently they aren't done very well!
